Brown signs teen driving bill

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill by State Sen. Cathleen Galgiani that prohibits teen drivers from using a variety of potentially distracting communications devices while driving.

Existing law already bans texting, but Galgiani's bill expands that to include new technology, including voice-operated devices. Galgiani said in a written statement that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded a person is 23 times more likely to crash if driving while distracted.

"Even though teens may not be manually distracted, they could be visually or cognitively distracted by using Siri, Bluetooth, and touch-screen technologies," Galgiani said.

The law, Senate Bill 194, was signed by the governor on Friday.

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